Improvement in gages for railroad-tracks



W. CROOKS.

Railroad Track Gage.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM CROOKS, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

lMPROVE'MENT IN GAGES FOR RAILROAD-TRACKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,2-fi7, dated October 13, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CROOKS, of St. Paul, in the county ofRamsey, in the State of Minnesota, have invented a new and Improved Railroad-Track Gage; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention is described as follows: This is an instrument designed for use in laying railroad-tracks. It consists of two wooden bars, E and F, a spirit-level, c, an arc graduated to inches, at, half-inches, and quarter-inches, made of metal, and a clamp-screw, b. The lower bar, E, is permanently gaged for any width of track, by having the distance between the jaws ff conform to the desired gage. The upper bar, F, is fixed to the lower bar at one end upon a pin or hinge, (I, so as to allow it to be moved vertically. The 0th r end is slotted so as to embrace the are a, and can be fastened or secured at any point upon that are by means of the clamp-screw b. On the top, and in the middle of this movable bar F, is a spirit-level, 0, set permanently in the bar.

The manner of using this instrument is as follows: In laying track upon a straight line or tangent, the upper or movable bar, F, rests down upon the lower bar, E, and is firmly clamped in that position by means of the clamp-screw b. The gage is placed between the rails, the faces of the jaws f f of the gage resting against the inside of the rails, while they are being spiked down, and the required width of track is thus secured, and the spiritlevel upon the top enables the track-layer to easily lay both sides of the track upon the same level. In laying track upon a curve or any place where it is desirable to have one side of the road higher than the other, it is used by placing the end upon which is the are a on the inner rail, or the one which is designed to be the lowest, and raising the movable bar F as many inches or fractions of inches on the are a as is desired, reading to the under side of theinovable bar F. The movable bar is then firmly clamped fast, and the instrument is placed upon the top of the rails with the gage between, and the outer rail is raised until the bubble of the spiritlevel 0 comes to the center. It is designed to be used for any required width of track.

I claim The combination of the bar F, the are a, and hinge d, in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

INILLIAM CROOKS.

'Witnesses W. F. MAsTERsoN, JOHN H. RANDALL. 

